MVNimbin

History
Australia
Name	Nimbin
Owner	North Coast Steam Navigation Company
Port of registry	Sydney,Australia
Route	North Coast Butter Run
Builder	Burmeister & Wain,Copenhagen,Denmark
Launched	27 April 1927
Maiden voyage	21 June 1927, from Copenhagen to Sydney in 65 days
In service	14 September 1927
Identification	Official Number:155313
Fate	Sunk by Germannaval mine5 December 1940
General characteristics
Type	Steel Motor Vessel
Tonnage	1,052GRT,516NRT
Length	65.53 m (215 ft 0 in)
Beam	10.66 m (35 ft 0 in)
Draught	3.352 m (11 ft 0 in)
Installed power	Burmeister & Waindiesel engine 1,000 horsepower (750 kW)
Propulsion	Single screw
Speed	12.1 knots (22.4 km/h; 13.9 mph)
Capacity	60,900 cubic feet, and fitted for refrigerated cargo
Crew	20

TheNimbinwas a steelscrew steamerbuilt in 1927 atCopenhagen,that was the first motor vessel placed into the New South Wales coastal trade. It was owned and operated by theNorth Coast Steam Navigation Companyand was the first Australian registered merchant ship to be lost duringWorld War IIwhen it struck a mine laid by theGerman auxiliary cruiserPinguin.TheNimbinwas on its way fromCoffs Harbourto its home port,Sydney,with a cargo of bundled three-ply timber and a cargo of pigs. One third of the ship was blown away and it sank in three minutes. Seven men were killed. The remaining thirteen clung to bundles of plywood. Some hours later an air force plane fromRAAF Base Rathminessaw the survivors and directed the coastal ship SSBonalboto the scene to retrieve them.

Ship description and construction

TheNimbinwas the first motor ship to be employed on the New South Wales coast, and run between Sydney and the northern rivers.

The vessel was built on the slips at the yards of the builders, Burmeister and Wain in Copenhagen, and completed in late June 1927. Upon arrival in Sydney the vessel was described as:

TheNimbinis a vessel of 1,052GRTwith a length of 215 ft 0 in (65.53 m), a width of 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m), and a depth of 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m). She has a total cargo space of 60,900 cubic feet, and is fitted for the carrying of refrigerated cargo. She is a single-screw vessel, propelled by a Burmeister and Wain 6-cylinder 4-cycle Diesel marine engine, with two auxiliary engines for maintaining the electric light and refrigerating services, and for working the winches and other gear. At her speed trials she developed 12.1 knots. A feature of the vessel is the accommodation for the crew, who have, for Instance, a bathroom fitted with hot and cold showers, in fresh and salt water. The three lifeboats are fitted with patent disengaging gear, which it is claimed, can be set afloat by unskilled hands in the space of half a minute.

Ship service history

Delivery and maiden voyage

TheNimbin's bridge when constructed

TheNimbin's engine room when constructed

TheNimbinleft Copenhagen, her launching port, under the command of Captain R.M. Beedie on June 21 with a cargo of 305,000 superficial feet of Baltic pine fromHargshamn,Sweden, and completed the journey to Sydney in 65 days, arriving on 27 August. During the delivery voyage the vessel ran into a gale in theRed Sea(the so-called “calm belt” ) which continued unabated for four days.Upon passing out of the Red Sea, the vessel then encountered the full force of themonsoonal winds,which persisted until it reachedColombo.Then from Colombo toCape Leeuwinthe ship was, in the words of her officers, "under water the whole way," and lost a quantity of her deck cargo of timber. Through it all theNimbindid not once develop engine trouble.

After arrival, the vessel was taken toMort's Dockfor inspection and was docked for overhaul before being placed in commission and into the so-called North Coast Butter Run to theClarenceandRichmond River.A similar but of lighter draught vessel was then ordered for use in theMacleay Rivertrade.

The North Coast Steam Navigation Company's then new motor ship left Sydney on the afternoon of Tuesday 13 September 1927 on her maiden voyage in the coastal trade. She was the first motor ship to be employed on the New South Wales coast, and ran between Sydney and the Clarence River.

Early incidents

TheNimbinas it appeared in 1931 at Coffs Harbour

Seven weeks after going into service, Frederick Hoskins, the second officer on the ship, was fatally injured on 2 November when he fell down the hold of the vessel while the ship was betweenLismoreandBallina.

The crew, under the direction of Hoskins, were erecting a chute for the loading of sugar when, by some unknown means, Hoskins fell the 15 feet into the hold. He was put ashore and taken toCorakiHospital, where he died the following morning.

Nearly a year later in mid-October 1928, while coming in across theRichmond bar,theNimbintouched the northern wall lightly, causing the steering gear to be carried away. Some slight damage was done to one of the plates at the water line. Temporary repairs were affected at Ballina. The steamer proceeded up the river. No tug was available to help the disabled vessel and had the accident happened further out, the steamer might have become a wreck.

Ballina grounding

TheNimbinat Lismore

At 6am on Monday, 22 February 1932, in a heavy fog, theNimbinwent ashore about three miles south of Ballina Heads. The sea was calm at the time, with the fog driving from the north. The ports pilot at Ballina, Captain Lyttle, on learning of the plight of theNimbin,immediately left port in a motor launch and called upon the dredgeTethys,commanded by Captain Munro, which was ordered to the scene at about 7:30 am, and stood by the stranded vessel. A heavy cable was passed on board and an attempt was made to tow her off, but a fall in the tide had left theNimbinmore firmly wedged on the sand. The attempt was abandoned for the time, and it was decided to await the high tide and the arrival of stronger salvage gear. The dredge returned to port to take on more coal and to take out the cables and anchors available at Ballina for salvage purposes. She returned to theNimbinin the afternoon, but her efforts met with no success.

The North Coast S.N. Company ordered their steamerUlmarra,which was close by, to proceed to theNimbin.It was hoped that she would be able to effect a salvage on the following morning's flood tide, as it should be powerful enough to tow theNimbinoff the sand if theNimbin's position did not become worse during the night. Additionally the company ordered its steamerArakoonto leave Sydney with Captain D W Gibson, of the Sydney Marine Underwriters' and Salvage Association, on board the latest salvage gears being taken to Ballina by Captain Gibson on theArakoon.

After being aground on the beach for 24 hours theNimbinwas successfully refloated under her own power about 9:15am Tuesday, 23 February. The cargo was intact but a quantity of oil was pumped from the tanks. The company's vesselUlmarra,which had been ordered to the scene, was standing by, and had a tow line aboard, but her assistance was not required. The dredgeTethysfrom Ballina also stood by. Sea anchors had been placed some distance to seaward, and were secured with lines to theNimbin.When the tide was at flood, theNimbin's motors were started, and she hauled on the anchors, and soon slid off the sand. The salvage gear had been taken to theNimbinon Monday night. After picking up the gear theNimbinproceeded on the Richmond River, safely negotiating the bar. She then commenced to discharge her Sydney cargo. TheUlmarraproceeded to the Clarence River. Captain Raymer of theNimbinstated that the vessel was travelling at half speed in a heavy haze, which was hanging low over the sea, when the stranding occurred. He said that no damage had been done to the vessel.

The steamerArakoon,which had been loaded with a quantity of salvage gear and had dispatched from Sydney late on Monday night to assist theNimbin,was advised the same morning that theNimbinhad been refloated by a message sent from the lighthouse-keeper atSeal Rocks.

Later incidents

TheNimbinat dock on the river

In late December 1934 theUlmarrawas partly disabled by the loss of a propeller blade which was snapped off by a submerged object in the Clarence River. TheNimbincame to assistance and towed theUlmarrathe voyage of nearly 300 miles. The master of theUlmarra(Captain Bysanton) said that theUlmarrawas not rendered helpless by the accident, and she could, if necessary, have steamed unaided, but as the motor shipNimbinwas coming down to Sydney from Richmond River, it was considered advisable for her to assist. During the long tow theUlmarrawas able to run her engines, and at times a speed of well over 11 knots was attained.

On Thursday, 9 September 1937, theNimbinand the small tugTevencollided on the Richmond River near Coraki. Joseph Smith, 72, the engine driver of the tugTevenwas killed, and Charles Young, a seaman on theTeven,was seriously injured. TheTevenwas towing a timber barge when the collision occurred. Young, who was steering, was hurled onto the barge, suffering severe injuries to the back. Smith, who was in charge of the engine, was crushed and flung into the water. His leg was smashed practically to pulp, and he was dead when picked up.

While coming down the coast in July 1938 theNimbincame across the coastal motor vesselComara,which had a mechanical breakdown where a bolt had broken and some cogs were partially stripped in the engine room. The vessel had been just north of Seal Rocks and was fortunate to escape into Seal Rocks Bay for shelter. Had theComarabeen farther on, shelter would not have been available, and the wind was high at the time. TheNimbintook theComarain tow at Seal Rocks and brought the vessel into Newcastle during the night.

Shipwreck event

Construction plans of theNimbin

Early in World War II, the German auxiliary cruiserPinguinhad laid a number of minefields betweenNewcastleand Sydney as well as off the eastern and southern coasts of Australia. Their first victims were the British cargo shipCambridgeoffWilsons Promontory,on 7 November 1940, and the day after, the American merchant shipCity of Rayville,which sank offCape Otway.This was the first American casualty of the war, in which the United States was not yet involved.

A month later, on 5 December 1940, theNimbinwas the first Australian registered merchant ship to be lost when it ran into a mine offNorah Headon theCentral Coast.It was on its way fromCoffs Harbourback to Sydney, with a cargo of three-ply timber packed in bundles and a load of pigs.

Without warning, there was a large deafening explosion at 3.25 p.m. just aft of the engine room; the whole after section or about a third of the vessel disappeared and the vessel settled by the stern. The explosion resulted in timber and debris being shot into the air as well as oil from the fuel tanks spurting up like a geyser. Luckily, the oil did not catch fire. Seconds later the survivors found themselves in the calm sea, struggling around, grasping bundles of plywood six feet long and three feet wide which were scattered over a fairly wide expanse. The bundles of plywood acted as rafts as there had been no chance of even getting near the life-boats, let alone launching any of them. There had been no chance of sending out a wireless distress call.

At 3.15 p.m. an amphibian aircraft, piloted by a senior officer of the RAAF based on the Rathmines, took off on a reconnaissance flight to seaward. Soon after taking off the pilot saw smoke several miles out to sea. He altered course and made for the spot immediately. He found a great deal of wreckage floating on the surface with the amphibian sighting the wreck site within ten minutes of the explosion. The pilot landed the plane but found the water much rougher than he had expected. Because of the seas and the extent of the wreckage, he was unable to taxi close to one large piece of the flotsam, to which he could see a group of men clinging desperately. He taxied the machine some distance to the lea of a small island, where sheltered water enabled him to take off.

The pilot intended to return directly o his base to obtain help. Soon afterwards, however, he sighted another ship in the vicinity. Flying low, he signalled to it with an Aldous lamp, informing it of the position of the wreckage and directing it to steam immediately to the scene.

The SSBonalboarrived about two and a half hours after the explosion to pick up the survivors at approximately 6 pm. An ambulance met them and rushed the injured to hospital. The rest, in clothes borrowed from their rescuers on theBonalbo,were sent home by car. At the time most of theNimbin's crew were old employees of the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. Captain Bryanston and Chief Officer Charles Chapman, who both died, had been with the company for 20 years and 26 years respectively.